by Writerbob

Created on: March 21, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

The ability to impact a game from the sidelines is what separates the many fine coaches of NCAA men's basketball. Here is a short list of three that stand above their peers:

Jamie Dixon - Pittsburgh. Intelligent as a player while at TCU, invaluable as an assistant to Ben Howland at Pitt, and now that he's the head man there he has them in the Sweet 16 where he'll meet his former mentor's current team, UCLA.

Bill Self - Kansas. Does nothing but win conference championships, at Tulsa, Illinois and now Kansas. Stays cool under pressure and his team plays without fear of making mistakes. He could win a national title this year.

Billy Gillespie - Texas A&M. He's done the impossible in Aggie-Land: elevated the basketball program significantly above the storied football tradition. He inherited talent to be sure, but no one manages the clock and keeps his players focused as he does.

In a close call, Bill Self gets this writer's nod as the best college coach in 2007. It would not be surprising to see him deliver the first NCAA crown to Lawrence since Larry Brown, and then follow the same path to the NBA.

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